Continuing the Cycle
by alpha2nd2003
Summary: Series of unrelated Zukaang prompts. 2nd chapter prompt "Appa and Momo Approve" of Zukaang
1. The Next Avatar

Walking in the palace gardens was one of the simple pleasures that the Fire Lord Zuko still enjoyed throughout his long life. It was very nostalgic of those few happy childhood days when he still had his mother.

He sat down on one of the stone benches that were scattered throughout the vicinity, the habit of sitting in the grass long forced out of him since he became a sovereign. After all, things were different than when he was a Prince, he simply could not get grass stains on his imperial robes.

A gentle wind blew and the creak of the branches from the tree behind him reminded Zuko of the creak of his bones whenever he moved.

It frustrated him to no end, too used to the days of intense physical training. He sometimes envied his and Mai's son, as he watched him train, who was in the prime of his youth.

_But I suppose I'm luckier than most…_unconsciously his mind wandered to a certain Airbender. And that ache in his chest, the one that appeared only after the final battle, after he began to bring back the honor of the Fire Nation, that doctors kept saying was nothing, began to act up again. Phantom pain they said, the wound from his sister's lightning attack was fully healed they said. _Which is ridiculous. I'm the Fire Lord and if I say that I have pains in my chest, then I have pains in my chest!_

It had only been four years since Avatar's death, but to the old sovereign it might as well have been an eternity. To him, Aang was the first real friend besides his Uncle that he ever made, Appa didn't count, and he missed him so.

He closed his eyes and tried to remember the features of his deceased friend. Those wide, innocent eyes, that bald, arrow-tattooed head, and that wide infectious grin. Even though Aang had reached a decent number in years, it was still hard for Zuko to imagine him as anything but that twelve-year-old who he had foolishly tried to capture all those years ago. Maybe it was because as the Avatar's body changed, his demeanor did not.

The ache began to grow during his continued reminiscence that he actually had to clutch his chest.

"Hey Mister, are you alright?"

"What in the-" eyes snapped open to reveal a small child, perhaps four or five years old, standing in front of him. "Who are? How did you get in here?!" Zuko demanded in a stern tone. Not particularly angry at the child, his presence did distract from the pain, but rather his royal guards. _I have been in serious danger of assassination all these years if a child is able to out-maneuver my guards. _

A brief flashback of a red and "impenetrable" fortress, a blue and cold city, and green caves underneath a lake passed through his mind. _But that was different, not only was I a teenager, but I had a stealth outfit and everything._

Realizing that the weird old man was not paying attention to him anymore enough to even hear his answer, the child did what any normal person would do. "Helllllooooooooo?" he said as he waved his hand back and forth in front of the guy-wearing-a-dress' face.

Zuko snapped back into attention. _That never happened when I was young_ he internally grumbled. "These are the imperial gardens. Only royalty is permitted. What are you doing here?"

A pair of blue eyes blinked. "My Mom and I have just moved to the Fire Nation" was all that he said as if that explained everything.

"How nice for you, welcome to the Fire Nation, now _what_ are you doing here?"

"Talking with you."

A twitch. "_Why _are you here"

A shrug. "I dunno."

"…"

"…"

"…How did you get in here?"

"Through the gates."

"Yes but-"

"What happened to you're eye, Mister?"

_Ugh! _ The Fire Lord closed his eyes in frustration. It was official. This kid was driving Zuko nuts, but it was an easy thing to do. Despite the "true-heart" his uncle said he possessed, he was never that good with kids. Perhaps dealing with a young Azula had put him off the idea of getting along with children.

All of a sudden Zuko felt a soft touch of lips against his own.

"What in the world are you doing??" he yelled, still mindful of his language around a child, as he quickly pulled his face away. _But seriously_, Zuko thought as he frantically looked around the gardens, making sure there were no other persons nearby _I've been through enough in my life, I do NOT need pedophilia charges against me now. _

He breathed a sigh of relief when certain that no one had witnessed that little transgression. He glared at the child unable to hold it when the brat simply grinned in response. _I must be getting soft in my old age. _

Another sigh and a shake of the head, Zuko closed his tired eyes. "Kid, just what _were_ you thinking?" he repeated, not really expecting any answer. Children were crazy after all.

"I was thinking…that I've wanted to do that for a long time Zuko."

Zuko's eyes flashed open; there was something familiar about the way his name was said, and instead of cobalt blue ones meeting them, a pair of gray stared back along with a long missed smile.

"Aang…"

A distant but clear call shattered the illusion and the child stood before him once more.

"I gotta go now, Mister. My mom's calling me." With that the intruder disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

Minutes after the departure, Zuko was still in a state of shock. Not sure whether or not the whole incident was just an old man's mind playing tricks on him. But the sudden disappearance of that annoying ache for some reason made him think otherwise.

"Blue eyes, hmm. The Water Tribe?" he chuckled to himself. Slowly he one again closed his eyes and leaned on the tree behind him.

Hours later, the Fire Lord was found on the garden bench, and if the small smile that graced his features was any indication, he had passed peacefully.

Only days after Zuko's death, a Fire Nation mother greeted her newborn child that had eyes remarkably similar to the recently passed ruler.


	2. Appa and Momo Approve

Boring

_Boring. _

_If there's one word that describes these long, droning council meetings, it's boring. _Fire Lord Zuko thought as he, unsurprisingly, sat in on a council meeting. He wasn't sure if he originally thought this about all council meetings, or whether his girlfriend Mai had begun to rub off on him. All he knew is that he would give anything at the moment to be up and about, just _moving _in general besides blinking and breathing.

Of course his face and posture did not betray those thoughts. Ever the perfect Lord, he sat up straight, arms rested stiffly atop his legs, and kept a solemn and serious face. He nodded every once in a while when the members addressed him but they more or less were arguing amongst themselves about certain topics; trifling matters that a Fire Lord really had no business in listening to in the first place.

_I wonder if I would be able to lick my own nose... _Zuko thought as once again an argument began. Of course he didn't dare attempt such a feat in the royal throne room in the presence of others, but he really was that bored.

…_blue, green, yellow, orange, amber, magenta, blu-wait are they standing up now? _Zuko had stopped naming all the colors in existence in his head when he noticed that the council members were now standing and bowing toward him.

The young Fire Lord leapt with glee, in his head, as the council left the chamber in a procession. Zuko decided that in order to keep up his reputation as a patient and serious ruler he should wait at least five minutes before heading out to get fresh air.

_One. Tw- _And Zuko was out of there as fast as Sokka could be when called for dinner, and that was pretty fast.

He immediately headed to the gardens, one of his safe havens.

But before he could reach there, he had to stop, feeling slightly disoriented. It might have been because he stood up so fast after kneeling in the same position for such a long time. However, Zuko was under the impression that listening to all those old goats rabble on had somehow given him brain damage.

That was the only plausible reason that Zuko could have remained quiet for all those meetings. Any sane person would have either told them to shut up and go argue elsewhere, maybe in the middle of a volcano, or called an Agni Kai tournament. But no, the sovereign definitely had gotten a brain aneurysm or something during the first meeting and that's why he let them continue to bore him out of his mind.

Zuko took deep breaths to calm himself, worried about who would be the Fire Lord if his head happened to explode the next time he had to undergo such torture.

He glanced at his surroundings, hoping to distract his mind from the path it was going on.

_That is one fine railing, what a nice piece of dust, I've always liked that tiling, and…_

_And…is that the top of the wall growing ears?_

Upon closer inspection, Zuko determined that yes; the wall _was _growing ears; big, white, and furry ears.

He felt a little anxious, he was only half-joking about the brain damage thing.

And now it was growing a head that looked remarkably familiar. Zuko took a good few moments to study the head with the big ears, brown face, and round green eyes.

And then it clicked.

_Mumu! I mean, Momo!_

Zuko's face brightened in light of his revelation. _If Momo is here, then…!_

As if the winged-lemur sensed the sovereign's thoughts, he immediately spread his wings and took flight.

Understanding the subtle command to follow, Zuko did not waste any time pursuing the Avatar's pet's trail. They went past the gardens, the courtyard, and eventually out of the palace grounds altogether, finally arriving at a cliff side, surprisingly not meeting anyone along the way. Or maybe he had but he had blocked them out. He should do that at the next council meeting.

Zuko paused a moment to catch his breath when they reached their final destination, only for it to be knocked out of him again when something pink and slimy began to attack him.

It took only a second to realize that the "enemy" was actually the tongue of the Avatar's other pet.

"Appa. Good to see you too." Zuko smiled. Technically, besides his Uncle Iroh, Appa was the first friend Zuko had made, so he held a soft spot for the flying bison. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

The gigantic beast, with Momo sitting atop his head, stepped aside to reveal a cave and with a small roar urged Zuko to go inside.

He stopped at the entrance, taking a deep breath to calm his fast-paced heart, before walking into the cave.

And when just a few steps in, he was attacked again. Only this time instead of being slobbered on he was enveloped in a long and tight hug which he gladly returned.

"Zuko…it's been a while."

"Yeah. I uh..you…you know…" Zuko trailed off, his habit of stumbling for words still showed up from time to time.

"I know, I missed you too Zuko." With that the Avatar leaned in to kiss the Fire Lord with an aggressiveness that was only reserved for said sovereign. He could never bring himself to be so passionate with Katara, only gentle and patient. He pulled away and fingered some of Zuko's locks. "You're hair has grown really long."

"Well, someone in this… relationship… should have some. I'm making up for your lack of hair."

Aang gave Zuko a skeptical look.

"…Besides you know I look good with it."

The monk couldn't help but smile at the pseudo-narcissism, though it was true. But as much as he did think that Zuko looked good with the long hair, Aang couldn't help but think that Zuko looked good with any hairstyle; even half bald with a pony-tail.

"Speaking of hair, it's Spring and Appa just shed his fur. I thought it would be such a shame, being the eco-friendly monk that I am, to let all that fur go to waste." With that said, Aang had a big grin on his face and indicated further into the cave where a large amount of fur was piled to form a bed of sorts, surrounded by romantically lit candles.

"I thought monks were supposed to have pure minds."

"And I think you should hurry up and get on the bed Zuko" The Fire Lord couldn't argue with that and both went deeper into the cave.

Back up at the entrance, Appa moved his massive body in front of the hole and lay down, completely obstructing it from view, Momo joining him as soon as he settle down.

They both dutifully ignored the muffled animal sounds that came from within the cave.


End file.
